Coin-actuated vending-machine.



P .ATENTED MAY L 3906.

(ww. f

PATENTED MAY l, 1906.

En. 819,422. y

` J. J. GREEN.

GOIN AGTUE'EEE VEEDING MACHINE.

APPLIOATIN FILED DBO. 6, 1904 2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

UNITED sfrArEs VPATENT OFFICE'.

JOHN JAY GREEN, OF BOONTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO EDWARD P. COE ANDLEONARD BRUNNER, OF NEW YORK, N.. Y.

oom-ACTUATED vENDiNG-MACHINE.

To a/ZZ whom, it mayconcern:

Be it known that fl, JOHN JAY GREEN, a citizen offthe UnitedStates, anda resident of Boonton, in the county of Morris and State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin-ActuatedVending-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

M invention relates to coin actuated ven ing-machines; and it consistsin the hereinafter described and claimed improvements in constructionand method of operation thereof, resulting in increased economy of.construction, certainty of operation, and prevention of imposition bothby and upon the vendee.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my I im rovements.

igure 1 is-a detail top view of the coin carrying and actuating devicesFig. 2,r a central vertical section of essential parts of my machine,taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 seenin the direction of the arrows; Fig.3, a detail top view of the coin carrying and actuating devices on anenlarged scale; Fig. 4, a transverse section taken on the line 4 4 ofFig. 3 and seen in the direction of the arrows; Figs. 5, 6, and 7,details illustrating part of my receipts-stopping deviceand itsoperation.

A is the case containing and supporting ehuteBfor articles l) b, till T,and other mech- 'anism and devices hereinafter described. A is providedwith an openable face portion a2, hinged to A on rod a3, on which it ispartially rotatable sulliciently to alord access to till T and othercontained portions of case A and with a door a overlapping a2, and whichwhen closed and locked prevents in the usual Way the undesired openingof the case. The

upper portions of case A, door a, chute B, te., are not shown, thesebeing unnecessary to an understanding of my invention. Chute ,as shownis vertically disposed and of such dimensions as to afi'ord storage andpassage rlhese articles are stored and carried in the chute, as shown inFig. 2. l

b is a weight or follower supported by resting on top olsaid articleswithin said chute.

. 'ol is a cylindrical stop-pin, likewise normally supported by saidarticles and passing ,loosely through a centrally and verticallydisposed perforation b3 in t.

Specicationof Letters Patent. Applicaties sied December c, 1904. seraiNo. 235.669.

Patented Mav 1, 1906.

` b4 is a handle to b.

b5 is a flange at the bottom of b2.

. b is a countersunk portion of b to accommodate ange b5.

The articles b are normally supported by resting at both ends upon Hanes 67 117, projecting inwardly from sides of e ute B. (See Figs. 2, 4,and 5.) a2 is rovided with a slot a.4 for insertion of coin Withincasing A is rigidly supported a horizontally-disposed Hoor D. Said floorsupports the coin-actuating mechanism, top view of which separated fromtheremainder of the machine is shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Saidcoin-actuating mechanism comprises a rectangular frame having verticallydisposed and rigidly connected sides E E E2 E3 and rigidly connectedwith said sides a loor or bottom portion e', to which is secured ahorizontally disposed ratchet e.

e2 is an adjustable gage-piece provided with slot e3 and adjustablysecured to flange e4 of the frame E by set-screw e5.

G is a cylindrical operating rod which passes through face portion a? ofcase A, aY

portion thereof projecting outwardly therefrom, so as'to be pushableinwardly from the exterior thereof in direction of the arrow (shown inFig. `1,) the location of G relatively to the exterior of the machinebeingindicated by the dotted lines so lettered in Fig.l 2. G passesthrough circular slots in E E2 of dialneter such to support and guidethe rod without unduly han'ipcring its reciprocating movements. A head gon rod G limits outward movement of latter by abutting against E2. Aspiral spring g is secured at one of its extremities to stud g2 on g andat the other to stud g3 on E. Said spring retracts G to normal positionwhen released from inward pressure by the vendee.

g4 is a vertically-disposed brace rigidly secured to and carried by rodG. gi is another brace similar to g4 and likewise rigidly secured to G.g" is a cylindrical auxiliary operating-rod to which braces g4 are alsorigidly secured. g, like G, passes through E2 in a circular slot in thelatter, having a diameter sized to support and guide g" without impedingits reciprocating movement. Braces g4 g5 are spaced apart approximatelya little more than the thickness of the actuatingcoin C or preferably,as shown in Fig. 8, a little less than twice the thickness of suchcoin,

97 is a circular bevel-edged gage-plate rigidly secured to betweenbraces g4 gi. The

bevels on 17 are extended so as to meet,

thereby imparting a sharp or knife edge to (17 at its greatest diameter.Brace g5 has integral therewith or rigidly attached thereto a raisedhorizontally-disposed carrier projecti )Iig,p1ovided with a slot. g".(iand itsconnected comovable parts as above enumerated are wheh innormal position located as shown in Fig. 2, so as to bring the spacebetween g4 and g5 lireetl y under chute f1.4. Gageplate a2 is accuratelyadjusted so as to intercept and hold coin dropped through chute a4 byreason of the peripheral edge of said coin contacting with inner edgeof' said guideplate c2 and knife-edge of 17. The coin thus passes fromthe coin-chute in the first instance partially into the space between gtand gi and is held from falling through said space between said bracesby its said impact against said operative edges of c" and 07. lt followsthat a coin whose'diameter is even a trifle less than the space betweeny* and gi will fall through and fail to operate the n iachine, whilewhen the space between g and gi is, as

in the preferred construction shown in Fig.

A3--11 (1 but little less than twice the thickness of the coin--a coinwhose thickness is somewhat less than that required will likewise. fallthrough, passing in this instance between .(/7 and g" -or lnwardpressure being now applied to outer extremity of operatingrod G, thelatter, with its connectml parts, earv ries the coin inwardly until thelatter becomes superimposed over floot c. As the inward movtmcntcontinues the edge of the coin is carried beyond edge of gage-plate cl',whereupon the coin drops slightly between braces g4 gi until its loweredge rests upon ratchet c. As the inward movement continues the coin,loosely supported in asubstantially vertical on-edge positionbetweencoactingbracesgg, pushed forward by g" and bearing at the lowerportion of' its periphery upon ratchet. r", rides upwardly over theincline of each ratchettoo'th and drops in front ol'each toothinsuccession, whereby its forward movement once comnwnced withdrawal ofthe coin is rendered impossible. 'lhe front of' the coin near its upperedge or periphery during its said forward movement contacts with andpushes forward the then undermost ofthe articles It, as shown in Fig. 5,and the alternate rises and falls of the coin as it passes over theratchet tend to prevent jamming. As the article is thus forced forwardand away 'from the support afforded by the flange bl, it passesprogressivetf and proportionately horizontally, without tilting,ontocacrier-platee*until it is wholly supported and carried by the latter,as shown in Fig. (i. When this stage is reached, the space betweenbraces g" and e5 will have been carried beyond floor c and its ratchet eand the coin will drop through slot Y-siuastzz O in floor e 'andbebanlred in till T. Pressure on rod (l being now withrh'awn,springretracts latter with its connected coniovah e l parts above described,with the result that carrier-plate g is `'withdrawn from beneati articlel), one end of the latter being abutted against its nex. succeedingarticle orweight b', which has in the meantime taken in the chute theplace last previously occupied by the article from beneath whichcarrier-plate 11 is, as aforesaid, being withdrawn. f'then spring g hasretrz'lcted rod G with its said connected parts to normal or firstposition, as aforesaid, the article vl) wiil be left without support andwill fall into delivery-chute S of the machine within reach of thepurchaser.

l/Vhile the articles are passing through the chute B, weight /,restsupon them and operates asa follower. l/Vhen the last article has beendelivered'4 as` aforesaid, Ab 'fills its-place within the chute,whereupon stop-pin fdrops first into the position indicated by fhg, 5and finally attains relatively to tmeratinq-rrai (i and its connectedparts the positioii illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. This brings the lowerextremity of the stop-pin b2 below the level of the carrier-plate g andwithin the slot therein g, which relation ot the parts causes stop-pinffl to abut against edge gl of carrier-plate g8 within slot y and iocksoperating-rod (l, with its connected parts, into the `position shown inlfig. 7, in which it will be u'iulerstood that the coin-receiving spacehetween braces g g5 is no longer located beneath the coin-chute a", theresult being tha t a coin dropped through the hitter finds no supportand passes downward between af purchaser. l

Among the numerous features'ot' my organized nachine as above describedwhich l deem particularly notmvorthy attention is directed to theparticular accuracy of gage accomplished by the combination ofadjustable gage-plate c2 and circular knife-edged gage-plate (17 intheir particular locations relatively to each other, as shown. thecoaction of the said knife-edge with thc adjustable edge of thehorizontally-disposed gage-piecel cl bearing against the periphery ofthe coin at different levels, 'as shown, increasing the accuracy of theadjust nent possible in its relation to,th coin,and the knife-edgeformation preventing spurious coins of undue thickness from beingsupported by the parts on tl cir introduction thereto through the slotof ille machine. 'lhe coin after being dropped into coin-chute e*attains considerable momentum before striking the siiperioriy-dispi)sedangular edge ot' the adjustable gage plate c2, from which it reboundsslightly in a direction angularly to that of its first descent, to fallagain with sonze rotary movement in a. path l which causes it t0 impingeknife-edge of cirand till 'l` into delivery-chute S, where it is,accessible to be recovered by the mtending" IIO cular bevel-edgedgagelate g?, from which again .it slightly reboun s towardinferi-orlydlspos'edangular edge of e2, and thus after a series ofprogressively-dininishing bounds from latter to knife-edge and back isiinally stopped by contacting tangentially simultaneously again saidinferior edge of c2 and at a single point against said knife-edge, owingto the distance between these points being a trifle less than th'ediameter of the required com. part to the -coin irregular oscillatoryn'ovements, `which usually. res '.lt in throwing the center of its edgeyto one side oi the knifeedge. Now in the preferred construction shown inFig. 3, the width ol the space between g and g5 being but little lessthan twice the thickness ol the coin, a coin of substantially less 'thanrequired thickness will work in between the knife-edge and eitherig andg5 and drop clear through the coin-chute without actuating the machine.Note also the effect of the ratchet upon the coin, whereby with theassistance of the braces g gi the vwithdrawal of the coin is prohibitedafter its actuating function upon the article has been commenced also,the `vloaction of stop-pin b2 with slot g", whereby after the lastarticle within the chute has been delivered the movable parts are lockedin a position which prevents the coin dropped into the receivingchutefrom actuating th'em or being retained in the niachine, thu efl'ectuallypreventing all imposition upon purchasers.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is the following, viz:

1 In acoin-actuated vending-machine, the combination of avertically-disposed chute for a coin, a stationary gage-plate having ahorizontally-extended. operative edge projecting into, beyond, andtransversely of the path of said chute at a given level, a movablegagedisk disposed in a vertical plane rectangularly disposed toward andat a lower level than said edge of said gage-plate, said operative edgesbeing spaced to sustain said coin between them, coacting braceshorizontally movable in a direction parallel with said 0perative edge ofsaid gage-plate and disposed to support the coin in edgcwisepresentation to said operative edges and nzeans to move saidl braces andgage-disk relatively to said operative edge of said gage-plate, wherebythe coin is supported by said braces and operative edges until n.ovedbeyond the operative edge of said gage-plate.

2. In a coin-actuated vending-machine, the combination of averlically-disposed chute l'or a coin a stationary gage-plate having ahoriZontally-extendeil operative edge projecting into, beyond, andtransversely of the path of raid chute at a given level, a movableknife-edge gage-disk disposed in a vertical plane rectangularly disposedtoward and 'at lhe rebounds' mentioned tend to ima lower level than saidedge of lsaid gageplate, said operative edges being spacedto sustainsaid coin between them, coacting braces horizontall movable in adirection parallel with said7 operative edge of said gage-plate anddisposed to support the coin in'edgewise presentation to said operativeedges and means to move said braces and gage-disk relatively to saidoperative edge of said gage-plate, whereby the coin is supported by saidbraces and operative edges until moved beyond the operative edge of saidgage-plate. I

3. In a coin-actuated vending-machine, the 'combination of avertically-disposed chute for a coin, aistationarygage-plate having ahorizontally-extended operative edge projecting into, beyond, andtransversely of, the path oi' said chute at a given level, a movablegage-disk disposed in a vertical lane. rectangularly disposed toward andat a ower level than said edge of said gage-plate, said operative edgesbeing spaced to sustain said coin between them,A a chute for an`article, a lloor extending beneath the bottoni ot said Q article-chuteto sustain the weight of said coin, coacting braces movable relativelyto said lloor and chute and arranged to loosely lhold said coin insubstantially upright, on-

edge, presentation relatively to and while sustained iirst by saidoperative gage-edges and afterward by said Iloor and means to move saidguide-disk and braces past said operative edges o'l" said guide-plate,over said lloor, and past the bottom ot' said articlechute.

4. In a coin-actuatedvending-machine, the combination of avertically-disposed chute for the coin, open at top and bottom, astationary gage-mate having a horizontally-extended operative edgeprojecting into, and transversely oli, the ath'oi said chute at a givenlevel, a mova le gage-diskl havinga peripheral knife-edge in a verticalplane rectangularly disposed toward and at a lower level than said edgeof said gage-plate, said edges being spaced apart'less than thedianieter oi said coin, and a pair of braces, parallel with each otherand with said plane of said knife-edge, spaced apart less than doublethe v thickness of said coin and each equidistantly disposed lonopposite sides of said knife-edge, whereby a com of required diameterand thickness is arrested and held within said chute, while a coin ofdeficient diameter or thickness falls through. v

5. In a coin-actuated vending-m achine, the

combination of a vertically-disposed continuous coin-chute, open at topand bottom, a horizontally-1novable coin-carrier normally interposedmedially in the path of said chute, a chute lor an article, means tomove said carrier horizontally out of said path of said chute to banksaid coin and to deliver said article, in said article-chute`a followernorermee seid eoii'iwehute, whereby a coin deposited in ro said chute'after delivery o said article Jhills through the chute and is returnedto the depositor..

- JOHN JAY GREEN.

1 Witnesses PHrLrP ,(1. Priori, l WILLIAM STAHL.

